Special Notice: Distributed Wind - Competitiveness Improvement Project October 12, 2017 The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) intends to release requests for proposals (RFPs) under the Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) early in 2018. The CIP Round 6 RFP topics may include Component Improvements and System Optimization, Manufacturing Process Improvements, Prototype Testing, Certification Testing, and Type Certification. The U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Energy Technologies Office is committed to a multifaceted distributed wind energy research portfolio to facilitate U.S. wind industry leadership in the development of competitive, high-performance technology for domestic and global markets. Program objectives include increasing the number of small and midsize wind turbine designs tested to national performance and safety standards and reducing distributed wind system levelized cost of energy to be competitive with other distributed generation technologies (e.g. solar photovoltaics). Since 2012, and through 5 rounds of CIP, NREL has executed subcontracts that are intended to target these program objectives and increase the competitiveness of U.S. wind turbine technologies in the expanding global market for distributed energy systems. In July, 2017, North American Clean Energy published an article (http://www.nacleanenergy.com/articles/27632/doe-s-competitiveness-improvement-projects-are-delivering-substantial-cost-reductions-in-the-u-s-distributed-wind-industry) featuring the many successes achieved by previous CIP awardees. Building on prior successes, in 2017 five separate RFPs were released under "Distributed Wind Turbine Competitiveness Improvement Project - Round 5". These RFPs included the topic areas referenced below: Component Improvement and Overall System Optimization - Round 5 https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOE/NREL/NR/RGZ-7-70164/listing.html Manufacturing Process Upgrades - Round 5 https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOE/NREL/NR/RGZ-7-70165/listing.html Prototype Testing - Round 5 https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOE/NREL/NR/RGZ-7-70167/listing.html Certification Testing ( 200m2 and 1000m2 RSA) - Round 5 https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOE/NREL/NR/RGZ-7-70204/listing.html No assumption should be made regarding the specific topic areas for any future competitive solicitations based on the past solicitations provided. The RFPs planned for 2018 will again include cost share requirements. Offerors should anticipate needing to demonstrate active engagement in the U.S. market, have links to the U.S. supply chain, demonstrate strong team skills and capabilities, and provide detailed financial information. In advance of the release of the 2018 RFPs, NREL will host an informational CIP workshop at the National Wind Technology Center outside of Boulder, Colorado. This workshop will be held Wednesday, December 6 and will cover a number of topics including a review of the common topics of previous CIP solicitations, merit criteria for proposal reviews, design evaluation requirements, and testing and certification standards. Additional topics may be added. The workshop also affords an opportunity to meet with other members of the distributed wind community. Attendees will also be encouraged to provide feedback on the CIP and the focus of potential future solicitations. The workshop will provide the option to participate in person or via webinar. Registration is required for attendance and is available at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/competitiveness-improvement-project-workshop-tickets-38086287110. To be placed on a list to receive the RFPs when they are released, please contact Procurement Office Subcontract Administrator Kyndall Jackson at
[email protected].